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The Joy of Writing
The Art of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human MotivesThe Art of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives by Lajos Egri
Buy new: £5.37 / Used from: £2.52
Egri's classic on character based stories
The Art of Creative WritingThe Art of Creative Writing by Lajos Egri
Buy used from: £6.26
The other Egri book developing the theme
Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of ScreenwritingStory: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee
Buy new: £13.47 / Used from: £11.00
Kee's classic on story theory
The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection PileThe First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile by Noah Lukeman
Buy used from: £6.18
good advice from a literary agent
The Plot ThickensThe Plot Thickens by Noah Lukeman
Buy new: £6.99 / Used from: £3.50
more good advice from a literary agent
Telling Lies for Fun and ProfitTelling Lies for Fun and Profit by Lawrence Block
Buy new: £7.10 / Used from: £2.26
Questions and answers from a well-known crime writer
On Becoming a NovelistOn Becoming a Novelist by John Gardner
Buy used from: £2.05
One of few books that deal with the actual writing process. Gardner's style is a bit outmoded now but his arguments are invaluable.
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into PrintSelf-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne
Buy new: £5.97 / Used from: £3.55
Two editors on the secret of revision
Revision: A Creative Approach to Writing and Rewriting FictionRevision: A Creative Approach to Writing and Rewriting Fiction by David Michael Kaplan
Buy used from: £17.95
A guide to 'remodelling' your fiction
Studies in European RealismStudies in European Realism by Georg Lukacs
Buy used from: £3.00
Old Georg on Balzac, Stendal, Zola, Tolstoy and Gorky
On WritingOn Writing by Stephen King
Buy used from: £2.46
Two books in one: about his accident and his craft
Timebends: A LifeTimebends: A Life by Arthur Miller
Buy used from: £0.01
Arthur Miller's autobiography
Writing & Other Blood SportsWriting & Other Blood Sports by Charles Willeford
Buy used from: £29.95
Charles Willeford's priceless articles on writers and writing
The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell StoriesThe Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories by Christopher Booker
Buy used from: £19.36
Why we tell stories (apparently)
Henry Miller on Writing (New Directions Paperbook)Henry Miller on Writing (New Directions Paperbook) by H Miller
Buy new: £7.65 / Used from: £6.38
A compendium of Miller's writings on writing. Superb